Karl shook his head, laughing at my description. “No way,” he shouted. The rest of the class began to chuckle, a communal piling on.

“What?” I looked around the room. I know when people are laughing, that they get the joke. I know when people get the joke, learning happened.

“Here’s how you learned to use a spreadsheet,” I explained. “Your IT guy handed you a book and commanded you take it home. Reading cover to cover will make you an expert.”

Chortles and chuckle was all I got. Of course. “No one learned to use spreadsheet software by reading a book. You told the IT guy to take his book, and himself, and leave the room. By golly, you learned this software on your own, dinging at the keyboard, trial and error, you learned by doing.”

I stopped. The laughter turned to smiles, the room grew quieter.

“People learn in different ways. Some people learn best by doing. Yet most training seminars I attend are PowerPoint slides and a lecture. Tell me, how effective is the learning? How effective is the training that happens in your company?” -TF

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